Utah medical cannabis patients leave stores empty-handed due to software glitches

Bugs in a state-run software system that medical cannabis dispensaries use to verify patient eligibility have resulted in hundreds of patients being turned away over the span of several days.

“It’s making us look bad to the patients,” said Chris Jeffery, owner of WholesomeCo. “We can’t serve patients, and some of these patients are terminal cancer patients. They need their medicine, and we had to turn them away.”

On Sunday, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services installed a new electronic verification system — used to ensure customers have a valid medical cannabis card and to track purchases to ensure they aren’t sold more than is legally allowed. It was supposed to go live Monday morning.

But shops quickly ran into problems, unable to access some patients’ records. Selling to patients without checking their eligibility can carry a fine of up to $5,000 and jeopardize the store’s license, so numerous patrons had to be turned away.

According to representatives of three Utah companies — Beehive Farmacy, Dragonfly Wellness and WholesomeCo — 20% of the patients who have come into their dispensaries since Monday have been unable to make purchases.

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Utah medical cannabis patients leave stores empty-handed due to software glitches

Utah medical cannabis patients leave stores empty-handed due to software glitches

Utah medical cannabis patients leave stores empty-handed due to software glitches

Utah medical cannabis patients leave stores empty-handed due to software glitches

Utah medical cannabis patients leave stores empty-handed due to software glitches